"Ah, come on… just five more minutes… no wait, the next time my alarm goes off I will get up!"
sound of a stampede throwing a door nearly off its hinges
"Hey dad, do you think you can make me a sandwich now? Now? Now? What about you mom? Oh, wait I think I hear my sister, I’ll go and get her now!" I still hear him shouting with glee as he stomps through the hallway, probably waking up the neighbors in the process.
Well, that’s my snoozing process right there, after I drag myself out of bed we go downstairs and enter the race to get our children to daycare and elementary school in time respectively. Once I’m done with that, I continue my way to work. Whilst driving to work, I’m thinking out loud to myself where did this come from? Not too long ago I would wake up at 5am and exercise, after that I would work or read for a while and then at 7am the rest of the family would wake up. Two hours of precious time in the morning, somehow it makes a big difference for me in how I approach the rest of my day. And why does it matter so much to me?
Proactive or reactive?
The gut feeling I had when thinking to myself, is that I reverted back from a proactive state of being to a reactive state. I was not in control of the day as it was, and I knew it. It made me feel a bit anxious, stressed even perhaps. In some way it made me feel like the rest of the people around me, who start their day in the same way. Getting up (too) late, gulping down their coffee and then racing their way to work. What I am describing here is a reactive state.
My morning routine helps me get into a proactive state, ready to crush whatever it is that the world throws at me during that day. The energy release from a good early workout, the satisfaction of learning something new so early in the day, these are factors for me that fire me up. Last but not least, taking this time early in the morning to invest in myself enables me to be a better person for those around me. Simply because I feel better, I am in a better state.
As far as mornings go, most people wake up, get a cup of coffee or whatever just so they are ‘functional’ enough to make it through the day. Thinking about all of the things that need to get done, they become anxious and stressed before their day has even kicked off. Madness!
Still not convinced? How about some examples?
That’s right, success leaves clues (failure does too by the way, but we’re not focusing on failure here...). Think of Bill Gates starting his day on the treadmill, while listening to audio classes from the Teaching Company to feed his mind simultaneously. The great Tony Robbins reserves one hour for himself in the morning which he affectionately named the “Hour of Power”. The late Steve Jobs would get up in the morning asking himself the question, “If today were the last day of my life, what would I want to do and am I about to do it today?”
These are just a few examples, all empowering in their own nature.
Great, so you’ve got me up at 5am. Now what?
The most important thing about getting your morning routine in is that you tackle three different areas to get the maximum result. I’m talking about rituals for your body, for your mind and for your soul. Why? Because one does not rule out the other, these rituals are all interlinked with each other. Trust me, once you’re into this and you neglect one you will notice.
You will want to get at least one ritual for each subject ingrained in your system when you wake up, so you can start your day on a proactive note, with your body, mind and soul activated and calibrated for the day ahead. Bring it on!
Body rituals
Rituals for your body revolve around the principle of getting your body both nourished and activated for the day ahead. Just think of the times you dragged yourself out of bed, realizing you were late and one hour later in the office your neck, back and think of some other ligaments – they still feel a bit stiff.
Mind rituals
When preparing your mind, you want to make sure you are empowered to take responsibility for your life. Planning out your day, visualizing it, sharing it with an accountability buddy, ask yourself the right questions to get you in a proper emotional state to gain access to your most productive being.
Soul rituals
Obviously meditating was going to come in here. If you are not the kind of person to meditate that’s ok, there are other ways of getting this part down. Thinking of three things to be grateful for, just thanking your partner for their unconditional love, praying, or just take a moment to silently celebrate what you have already achieved – these are all ways to get your soul ready for the day. Another one is to contribute, but I can imagine your neighbor not taking too kindly to you shouting your gratitude through his window at 6am.
Sounds like a lot of work!
You’re right – it is. But let me tell you this: there are no quick fixes in life. Sure, you can get by for a short period of time ‘faking it till you make it’ but eventually you will be found out. If you are truly hungry for growth as a person, as a business man or business owner, as a lover, father, anything – you will have to commit. And that is exactly what the real lesson of having this morning routine is all about. Commitment.
If you know you can rely on yourself, at the same time getting your body, mind and soul pumped there is literally nothing that can stop you from achieving what you set out to do. But remember this, commitment does not mean let’s try for a week and then hit that snooze button again. I have been off and on for the last three weeks now, and honestly, I can already feel stagnation hitting my systems the minute I wake up. You have to stay on it, don’t break the pattern and deny yourself being productive day in, day out.
Alright – let's do this!
I sincerely hope this article will inspire you to take control of your life by starting to do a committed morning routine. Writing this piece alone has helped me set my sights firmly on getting my routine on track again. If you need some examples, or if you want to know what I do to get started each morning just let me know in the comments below! Naturally I'm very curious to learn from all of you as well, so if you have anything to contribute in terms of routines or your general experience, please share these as well!
All the best,
Wes